Chapter 22
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I was feeling anxious, but Dorothy asked me various questions and gave me suggestions about what to do.
Even if they weren’t perfect solutions, just talking to her made me feel much better.
With a lighter step, I returned home.
But… do they really like me?
Why would they like someone like me?
Carefully making my way through the hallway to my room, I managed to avoid encountering Elenien or Deruna.
Maybe it’s because it’s still early in the morning.
Anyway, I quickly returned to my room and locked the door behind me.
Then, I jumped onto my bed and pulled out Dorothy’s lifelong contract from my pocket.
“Dorothy actually likes me!”
When we were kids, I jumped into the water to save Dorothy, fought off stray dogs, and went herb-picking to help my mother.
At the time, it was probably because I was afraid of losing Dorothy, my only friend, even after possessing this body.
Honestly, as a possessor, I do feel a bit guilty about that.
“But why would Elenien or Deruna like me…?”
I’m not the protagonist or anything.
Come to think of it, I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to reflect.
As soon as I arrived, I was preoccupied with setting up the fertilizer factory, but once I build the fertilizer generator, running the factory shouldn’t be too hard with the help of my parents, sister, and Dorothy.
Who wouldn’t want to do it when it’s a profitable venture?
I might even find myself with more free time than expected. Relaxing during the break doesn’t sound too bad.
After all, it’s been quite a long journey.
“But still…”
Why on earth do they like me…?
Lying down comfortably, I reflected on the time I spent with them, and strange things started to stand out.
Even if Deruna is strong, in the mountains…
As a possessor, even if I’m not smart enough to fully use my knowledge of the novel, I still understand the general flow.
Weren’t those bandits in the mountains part of the “Green Wave,” the early antagonistic force to the protagonist?
Not to mention that the guy I fought, the White Serpent, was the character who died crying after realizing his limits when he challenged the protagonist in the novel.
The novel even briefly depicted his tragic upbringing to evoke pity…
“Deruna defeated the strong members of Green Wave? Even if she recovered from her injuries with the Archil family’s secret potion, it doesn’t make sense… Even with the help of spirits? Wouldn’t her endurance have limits? I know the mercenaries are strong, but they aren’t named characters like Deruna… Kals, though… his name does seem familiar.”
Something feels off.
I sprang up and looked out the window.
Could Karon have come by any chance?
Is he stopping by our village while traveling around?
Shaking nervously, I collapsed onto the floor and crawled into one of my usual hiding spots.
But I quickly realized how pointless that was and decided to lie on my bed instead.
“Hah… No matter how much I think about it, this is weird.”
Even though it’s unrelated to my current worries… how did Deruna defeat all the strong members of Green Wave?
I’ll leave that aside for now.
“Let’s think step by step about why Elenien likes me.”
The most definite turning point must have been when I spoke to her near the library.
Elenien is a pure character, and even small acts of kindness from the protagonist made her feel loved…
My self-esteem is so low that I can’t believe it, but Elenien liking me actually makes sense.
Not everyone who is kind to Elenien becomes the target of her affection, but for some reason, I must have qualities that caught her attention.
I bought her food, started conversations with her, spent time with her without complaint, shared a similar status at the academy, and got along well with spirits…
Listing it all out…
“Wait… Am I Elenien’s ideal type?”
Karon didn’t get along with the spirits; they were just scared of him and behaved because of that. Karon wasn’t interested in them anyway.
But I made a contract with Dirtling and got along well with other spirits.
I even gave fertilizer to spirits and greeted them, which made me the perfect match for Elenien.
Plus, the spirits must have told her about how I went around crying, looking for her…
As an elf, receiving such affection often leads to either obsession or single-minded devotion, where they think only of that person.
Actually, now that I think about it, the moment she offered to help me at the academy, it must have already begun.
I was someone she could form an attachment to.
“As a possessor, thinking about it objectively… this was pretty straightforward.”
So then… what about Deruna?
No matter how much I think about it, Deruna is a mystery.
Based on the novel, Deruna is subtly—no, extremely materialistic, with very high standards for men.
They need to have wealth, honour, strength as a man, hold their ground before her family elders, and be someone she can develop an attachment to.
“Could it have started with the CPR?”
That’s a surprisingly common cliché.
In modern times, people might scoff at it, but women in this world are more innocent, as they haven’t been exposed to much media.
If it’s Deruna, she could easily act cool and move on, but once she starts noticing a man, she’ll keep thinking about him and imagine all sorts of things.
If I became someone she developed an attachment to for some reason…
“Wait… Wasn’t Karon her attachment target yet?”
Thinking back, at this point, Deruna probably still sees Karon as a friend or someone she wants to surpass.
The political marriage proposal only served to wound her pride.
Of course, Deruna isn’t foolish enough to think she can surpass Karon, and she shrewdly uses him as a kind of cheat key.
But as a man, she wouldn’t start caring about Karon until she realized she could never beat him and mistook his actions for affectionate gestures toward her.
“No, but.”
Did I really clear those insane conditions?
I… I…
- Be someone Deruna considers an untouchable, sky-like existence she could never surpass.
- Have power stronger than money, fame, or noble lineage.
- Perform actions that could earn her attachment.
I cleared all of these difficult conditions?
Does that even make sense?
For the third one… let’s say it was fulfilled when I bought time for Deruna to recover while facing the strong members of Green Wave.
But where on earth do I have power stronger than money, fame, or noble lineage?
And for Deruna to consider me an untouchable, sky-like existence she could never surpass…?
Karon’s humility in calling himself mediocre is because, in his past life, he reached the pinnacle of greatness through effort and cunning rather than innate genius, and even in this life, he isn’t exactly a prodigy.
Even so… he’s still a genius, and even Karon refrains from feeling prideful in front of Deruna.
Deruna is a true genius.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t maintain such strong pride in front of Karon or hold her ground while fighting three of Green Wave’s strong members.
And yet, Deruna considers me an “untouchable, sky-like existence”?
“What… what the hell is going on?”
Dorothy had advised me to “try being more assertive” with Deruna, assuming she wanted something from me, but I wasn’t confident I could pull that off.
I planned to subtly probe her intentions instead.
But if I were to act firmly toward Deruna and see her lose her nerve…
That would confirm that she sees me as an “untouchable, sky-like existence.”
“…Maybe I should spar with Father for the first time in a while?”
Father wouldn’t kill me, and he’s strong enough to gauge my abilities.
I went outside, looking for Father, who was probably swinging a sword or a plow in the yard.
“Serupe, you’re as quiet as ever. When did you get back?”
“It hasn’t been long. Father, I have a favour to ask. Could we spar for a bit?”
“Hoho, of course, I can spar with you. Are you no longer afraid of swords?”
“Come on… who wouldn’t be afraid?”
“I’ll go easy on you, so give it a try.”
Father picked up the greatsword he’s used for years and got into position.
I hadn’t noticed before, but he looked absurdly strong.
To make a good impression, I held my sword and aimed at him, careful to keep my distance so I wouldn’t accidentally hurt him.
“W-well, here I come, Father.”
“Come… Hmm?”
“Ah!”
As I swung my sword, Father’s greatsword moved swiftly to evade, something he never did before.
Caught off guard, I lost my footing and fell to the ground.
Then, I heard someone shouting urgently from outside the yard.
“Stop! Stop it right now! Cease the sparring!”
“What the hell are you doing? Hey, didn’t you say you’d let me know if something like this happened?”
The mercenaries came rushing into the yard in a panic.
…What’s going on?
Father approached the mercenaries as they whispered something urgently in his ear.
Then they started having a serious discussion among themselves.
Curious about what they were saying, I tried to eavesdrop, but they moved away.
“What are you all talking about, leaving me out?”
“Hahaha, it’s nothing, Serupe. You’ll find out naturally in due time.”
“Serupe, a man shouldn’t draw his sword carelessly. Only use it when it’s absolutely necessary, like us.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
These people are acting strange…
Father was examining his sword closely, as if looking for something.
This is all way too suspicious.
What in the world is going on?
Seriously, what is this?
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